The Art of Collaboration

The Digital Technology Supercluster is built on the foundation of collaboration and is critical to our success. On December 3rd, we brought together four of our Members (Balraj Bains, Director of Corporate Development at Providence Health Care; Robert Attwell, Founder & COO at Careteam Technologies; Robert Bennett, COO & Program Director at VIATEC; Robert Fraser, CEO at Molecular You) to speak to their experience and lessons learned from building and managing a successful project consortium. Having participated in a range of our programs, from Technology Leadership to Capacity Building and mostly recently our COVID-19 Program, our panelists had a wealth of knowledge to share. Here are some key takeaways from the discussion:

  • Have a clearly defined ‘north star’ that reflects what you are trying to achieve

  • Take time in the beginning, to define your why and to ask the hard questions early on, whether it’s intellectual property or expectations for people’s roles

  • Go into the Supercluster open-minded and know that project development and execution is a process that requires resilience, transparency and trust

  • Shared values, mutual respect and open communication are key ingredients to the foundation of a successful consortium

  • The Supercluster is not something you apply for, but rather join. Our team is a partner in your consortium, and we are here to support and help you succeed

  • When managing conflict, proactively think about and address the risks you are taking and determine plans to mitigate this.
  • There are many benefits that stem from collaboration, including:
    • Working with organizations that are different from yours (in size or industry), allows you to learn from one another and share best practices across organizations and sectors
    • Commercial opportunities that emerge outside of the Supercluster
    • Company growth and scaling of operations
    • Hearing how your program or the technology you’ve developed has impacted someone in a meaningful way
    • Building relationships with partners within and outside of the Supercluster, allowing you to actively be part of the cross-Canada innovation ecosystem

Thank you again to our Members for taking the time to share their experience. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Members directly or to info@digitalsupercluster.ca

Watch the full video here: